Capital Contributions – CAP·impacthttps://www.capimpactca.com
A resource for understanding and shaping law and policyMon, 18 Mar 2019 16:12:15 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.10The CAP·impact Podcast – Episode 40: NEPA, Natural Resources, & Energy Policy with Dean Sam Kalenhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/03/the-cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-40-nepa-natural-resources-energy-policy-with-dean-sam-kalen/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/03/the-cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-40-nepa-natural-resources-energy-policy-with-dean-sam-kalen/#respondThu, 14 Mar 2019 17:58:48 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3115Continue Reading…]]>Associate Dean, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Co-Director of the Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies Sam Kalen got on the phone with Jon Wainwright to talk about some of the clinical opportunities for law students at University of Wyoming, interstate power grids and how those can be created without preempting federal law, NEPA and efforts to curtail some of its impact.

On the podcast, we talk about our favorite public lands, some of the great clinic opportunities afforded to University of Wyoming Law students who get involved in the university’s Center for Law and Energy Resources, how states can build out interstate grids without running afoul of federal law and regulations or running headlong in to preemption issues, and explore the National Environmental Policy Act.

To learn more about Dean Kalen, you can visit his University of Wyoming College of Law faculty page or his publications page. You can also learn more about University of Wyoming College of Law’s Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies here. And lastly, if you are interested in reading Dean Kalen’s book on energy policy, you can ask your local bookseller for Energy Follies: Missteps, Fiascos, and Successes of America’s Energy Policy or find it online on sites like this one.

To help more people hear this week’s conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about the work that Dean Kalen and the rest of the faculty at University of Wyoming College of Law is doing.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/03/the-cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-40-nepa-natural-resources-energy-policy-with-dean-sam-kalen/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 39: Professor William Henning and the Most Impactful Organization You’ve Never Heard Ofhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/03/the-cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-39-professor-william-henning-and-the-most-impactful-organization-youve-never-heard-of/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/03/the-cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-39-professor-william-henning-and-the-most-impactful-organization-youve-never-heard-of/#respondThu, 07 Mar 2019 21:01:30 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3110Continue Reading…]]>Texas A&M Law Professor William Henning is a former Executive Director of the Uniform Law Commission and has his fingerprints on laws in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands that affect your everyday life. He took the time to talk with me about some of the laws he’s helped draft and enact, and just how far ranging the work of the Uniform Law Commission is.

We primarily focus in on two laws that he’s been involved with through his work with the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Commercial Code – Professor Henning’s bread and butter as it were – is one. The other is a law enacted after Hurricane Katrina to help mobilize aid to areas where emergencies have been declared. While those are the two main acts discussed, we talked about at least half a dozen different pieces of legislation – all of which is wide ranging – and which are enacted all over the country. That just starts to give an impression of how impactful the work of the Uniform Law Commission is.

To learn more about Professor Henning, you can visit his Texas A&M School of Law faculty page or his SSRN page.

To help more people hear this week’s conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about the work that Professor Henning is doing.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/03/the-cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-39-professor-william-henning-and-the-most-impactful-organization-youve-never-heard-of/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 38: What States Should Know Before Legalizing Sports Betting with Professor Keith Millerhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/the-cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-38-what-states-should-know-before-legalizing-sports-betting-with-professor-keith-miller/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/the-cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-38-what-states-should-know-before-legalizing-sports-betting-with-professor-keith-miller/#respondThu, 28 Feb 2019 21:59:38 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3098Continue Reading…]]>On this week’s episode of The CAP⋅impact Podcast Jon explores the legal and regulatory frameworks around the growing legalized sports betting industry with Drake University Law School Professor Keith Miller. Professor Miller talks about the role that gambling plays in the budgets of state’s that already have legalized gambling and provides a cautionary note to states thinking about legalizing sports betting. Professor Miller also discusses some of the numerous public policy issues that gaming law – and legalizing sports betting – implicates. The conversation delves into tax law and crafting public policy that doesn’t worsen the issue of problem gambling.

On the issue of tax policy, Professor Miller points out, “If legislators in a state see sports betting as a gold mine of revenue … they are going to be disappointed.”

To learn more about Professor Miller, you can visit his Drake University Law School faculty page or his SSRN page.

To help more people hear this week’s conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about the work that Professor Fox is doing.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/the-cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-38-what-states-should-know-before-legalizing-sports-betting-with-professor-keith-miller/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 37: The Return of Rent-to-Own Housing & How You Can Protect Yourself w/ Prof. Judith Foxhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-37-return-rent-housing-can-protect-w-prof-judith-fox/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-37-return-rent-housing-can-protect-w-prof-judith-fox/#respondThu, 21 Feb 2019 19:00:06 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3092Continue Reading…]]>This week Jon talks with Notre Dame Clinical Professor of Law Judith Fox about her work as the Director of Notre Dame Economic Justice Clinic and a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Advisory Board member to protect individuals from predatory actors in the rent-to-own housing market.

Rent-to-own housing is something that sounds like a panacea for the affordable housing crisis being experienced in California. The exact types of contracts vary, but generally a rent-to-own contract – also known as a land contract – will have a much lower down payment than a traditional mortgage – something in the ballpark of 7% instead of 20% – and then there will be an option to buy the home at the end of a predetermined lease period.

If that sounds too good to be true, that’s because often it is. Some of the more predatory actors in this segment of the housing market will saddle the occupant of the house with all the responsibilities of home ownership – paying for repairs minor and major, paying property taxes, etc. – while not passing on the benefits of home ownership to the occupant, like allowing the to use the equity in the home to pay for repairs or extending the occupant the protections a traditional renter may have from actions like eviction. Worse, often these contracts will include mandatory arbitration clauses where the owner is the arbiter, and then states that the next course of action is to corporate mediation – where filing fees can be as high as $20,000. So basically, if you have you a legal complaint you want resolved, you have to take it up with the landlord first. And if you don’t like their decision? Tough.

That’s a brief overview of the issue. Prof. Fox covers many other shady and deceptive practices these predatory actors will utilize, as well as outlines numerous ways consumers can protect themselves from actors like these if they enter the rent-to-own housing market.

To help more people hear this week’s conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about the work that Professor Fox is doing.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-37-return-rent-housing-can-protect-w-prof-judith-fox/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 36: How the Oil & Gas Industry Can Help Save the Environment with Prof. Tara Righettihttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-36-oil-gas-industry-can-help-save-environment-prof-tara-righetti/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-36-oil-gas-industry-can-help-save-environment-prof-tara-righetti/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 20:00:10 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3085Continue Reading…]]>On this week’s podcast Jon Wainwright talks with University of Wyoming College of Law Professor Tara Righetti about her work in the field of oil & gas law, specifically laws and regulations around incremental storage and pore space utilization.

The laws related to pore space utilization – which is one piece of the oil & gas storage puzzle – can be tricky to navigate because there isn’t much legal precedent in federal law related to it. That is because there is not a lot of carbon storage in the United States writ large.

But what is very interesting about her work is the role that these existing technologies and strategies can play in addressing climate change. One thing Professor Righetti points out is that the goals of climate activists and the oil and gas industry are not as mutually exclusive as one might think. The process of incremental storage – which is where a depleted oil or natural gas production well is used to store carbon – combined with existing carbon capture technology – that is, technology that pulls CO2 out of the atmosphere – is a “bird in the hand” that can be used right now to fight climate change and global warming.

To help more people hear this week’s conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about the work that Professor Righetti is doing.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-36-oil-gas-industry-can-help-save-environment-prof-tara-righetti/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 35: Fighting the Ghost of Strom Thurmond with Texas A&M Law Professor Thomas Mitchellhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-35-fighting-ghost-strom-thurmond-texas-law-professor-thomas-mitchell/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-35-fighting-ghost-strom-thurmond-texas-law-professor-thomas-mitchell/#respondThu, 07 Feb 2019 22:24:46 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3073Continue Reading…]]>Today we talk with the expert in the field of heirs’ property rights, Texas A&M Law Professor Thomas Mitchell. Prof. Mitchell is the Reporter – read: primary drafter for those not intimately aware of the terminology used by the Uniform Law Commission – of a policy crafted through the ULC to protect the property rights of individuals who have tenancy-in-common ownership of property. Essentially, the policy makes it more difficult to force a sale of property – through a forced sale auction that results in a fire sale price on the property rather than it’s fair market value – by codifying in state law that the primary remedy is for properties to be divided rather than using the courts to force a sale. Professor Mitchell goes into greater depth in the podcast about how the process has been abused in the past and in state where this policy is not in effect.

Thanks to the research and tireless advocacy of Prof. Mitchell, this law is in effect in 12 states/jurisdictions in the U.S., has been introduced in seven more states, and is being re-considered in the District of Columbia.

We talk about the conversations and research that started Prof. Mitchell down the path to write these laws, some of the biggest challenges that he and his coalition faced getting the policy enacted in one state, and as he puts it, “battling the ghost of Strom Thurmond.”

To help more people hear this conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about the work that Professor Mitchell is doing.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/02/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-35-fighting-ghost-strom-thurmond-texas-law-professor-thomas-mitchell/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 34: Improving Juvenile Justice for Tribal Youth with UNLV Law Prof. Addie Rolnickhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-34-improving-juvenile-justice-tribal-youth-unlv-law-prof-addie-rolnick/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-34-improving-juvenile-justice-tribal-youth-unlv-law-prof-addie-rolnick/#respondThu, 31 Jan 2019 18:00:01 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3062Continue Reading…]]>UNLV Boyd School of Law Professor Addie Rolnick talks with Jon Wainwright about her work to improve the juvenile justice system for tribal youth. Professor Rolnick goes over the biggest issues facing tribal youth who enter the juvenile justice system and offers the solutions she thinks are necessary to fix some of the cracks in the system.

One of the issues that we discussed that truly blew me away the lack of data on tribal youth in the justice system. Collecting data seems to me to be one of the easiest things an institution can do. This is one of the facets of the juvenile justice system that Professor Rolnick has been working to improve, having testified to Congress about this issue, as well as other improvements such as allowing for greater tribal control over juvenile justice, more flexible funding for tribes, and communication requirements for states and federal agencies, among other recommendations. As I mentioned before, she has brought these issues up to Congress as recently as last September when she testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs’ Oversight Hearing on “Justice for Native Youth: The GAO Report on ‘Native American Youth Involvement in Justice Systems and Information on Grants to Help Address Juvenile Delinquency.'”

You can learn more about Professor Rolnick’s background and keep up to speed with her publications and news appearances here. Or, you can follow her on Twitter @acrolnick.

If you want to help more people hear this conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about UNLV Boyd School of Law Professor Addie Rolnick’s work.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-34-improving-juvenile-justice-tribal-youth-unlv-law-prof-addie-rolnick/feed/0The CAP⋅impact Podcast – Episode 33: Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors & Enforcing Gun Laws in Texashttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-33-protecting-domestic-violence-survivors-enforcing-gun-laws-texas/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-33-protecting-domestic-violence-survivors-enforcing-gun-laws-texas/#respondThu, 24 Jan 2019 23:23:49 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3049Continue Reading…]]>Today’s conversation with Professor Natalie Nanasi, who teaches at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, was recorded in mid-December. At the time, what drew me in to the conversation was that it was about something that runs completely counter to popular perceptions of the state of Texas, a state law and program to certain people to surrender their guns. However, recent events close to home here in Sacramento created a different, albeit tragic, parallel.

The Texas state law discussed in today’s episode requires people who are convicted of felony or misdemeanor domestic violence charges to surrender any and all firearms that they own. There have been numerous issues with enforcing that law – which we discuss in the podcast so I won’t go into all of them here – but one of the issues that factored into the difficulty of enforcing the law was the lack of awareness of it within the law enforcement community. It is an issue Prof. Nanasi and her colleagues are working to address by educating, and pushing for re-training of, the law enforcement community in Dallas County on this law, from police officers to prosecutors to judges, so that the law can be better enforced, and domestic violence survivors can be safer.

Just a few weeks ago, Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona was shot and killed while responding to a traffic collision in downtown Davis. The man who shot her, as part of a conviction for a September 2018 battery charge, was ordered to surrender firearms and ammunition that he owned pursuant to California Penal Code Section 29810. That section of penal code also prohibited him from acquiring, or attempting to acquire, any more guns or ammunition. He surrendered an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. However, investigators found two pistols at his residence, and at this time it is still unclear when and where he acquired those pistols. What is clear is that at some point, some part of the system broke down and there was a failure to fully enforce the law.

What we know from these recent tragic events as well as Department of Justice data is that the result of failing to fully enforce laws that take guns out of the hands of people who should not have them are inevitably tragic. It’s a reminder that the work Professor Nanasi and her colleagues at SMU’s Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women are doing is critically important.

You can listen to today’s conversation on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. And if you want to help more people hear this conversation, please subscribe to The CAP⋅impact Podcast on any of those services and leave a 5-star rating and a positive review. That makes it easier for the show to be found which in turn makes it easier for people to learn about Prof. Nanasi’s work.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%e2%8b%85impact-podcast-episode-33-protecting-domestic-violence-survivors-enforcing-gun-laws-texas/feed/0The CAP·impact Podcast – Episode 32: Immigration Law & Reform with Professor Jennifer Kohhttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-32-immigration-law-reform-professor-jennifer-koh/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-32-immigration-law-reform-professor-jennifer-koh/#respondThu, 17 Jan 2019 16:00:47 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3042Continue Reading…]]>On today’s episode of The CAP·impact Podcast I talk with Professor of Law and Director of the Immigration Clinic at Western State College of Law Jennifer Koh. Professor Koh’s work at the intersection of criminal law and immigration law is prolific, so there was a lot of ground for us to cover.

One newer project that she is working on is the Orange County Justice Fund, which was formed to raise the money to ensure that immigrants that call Orange County home can have an attorney represent them in immigration proceedings, rather than have to defend themselves in immigration court. In the interview we talk about the gap in federal law that created the need for OCJF.

We also talk about California’s sanctuary state law – SB 54. The school where Professor Koh teaches as, Western State College of Law, is in Irvine, California. From Irvine, Professor Koh was able to witness first-hand a series of cities in Orange County pass ordinances stating that the city would be opting-out of enforcing that state law. We talk about what authority cities have to do that, if at all.

Last, but certainly not least, we get the opportunity to talk about what it’s like to be cited in a United State Supreme Court Decision by none other than the Notorious RBG, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

I hope you have as much fun listening to the conversation as I did having it with Professor Koh. If you are interested in keeping up with the work that Professor Koh does, there are a couple places you can find her. You can find her on Twitter @jenniferleekoh and you can also refer to her faculty page for more information about her work and research as well.

And, as always, if you enjoyed today’s conversation, please take the time to leave us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher Radio and subscribe to our show wherever you listen to podcasts. All of that makes The CAP⋅impact Podcast easier to find and more accessible.

You can also get in touch with us and let us know what you thought about today’s show, the new show format, and what you think about the show generally on Facebook and Twitter. Just like CAP⋅impact on Facebook or follow @CAPimpactCA on Twitter.

The CAP⋅impact Podcast is made possible by the Capital Center for Law & Policy at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. You can learn more about the Capital Center here, and keep up with the Capital Center on Facebook and Twitter.

]]>https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-32-immigration-law-reform-professor-jennifer-koh/feed/0The CAP·impact Podcast – Episode 31: Patent Law with Texas A&M Law Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakathttps://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-30-patent-law-texas-law-professor-saurabh-vishnubhakat/
https://www.capimpactca.com/2019/01/cap%c2%b7impact-podcast-episode-30-patent-law-texas-law-professor-saurabh-vishnubhakat/#respondThu, 10 Jan 2019 21:40:43 +0000https://www.capimpactca.com/?p=3027Continue Reading…]]>New year, new style! We are shifting our focus on The CAP·impact Podcast from exclusively looking under the capitol dome in California and the surround sprawl of government buildings that make California’s state government to look at the tangible impacts legal academics are having on public policy at the local, state, and federal level all over the United States.

We are kicking this new series off with an interview with Texas A&M Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat, who has helped in refining PTAB – Patent Trial and Appeal Board – adjudication process for patents that takes place within the U.S. Patent Office. He is a former agency advisor and his work has been extensively cited. Prof. Vishnubhakat has been cited in Federal Circuit opinions, Patent Office rulemaking, Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Government Accountability Office reports on the patent system, as well more than twenty U.S. Supreme Court briefs on 10 different patent cases.

As always, if you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the time to leave us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher Radio and subscribe to our show wherever you listen to podcasts. All of that makes The CAP⋅impact Podcast easier to find and more accessible.

You can also get in touch with us and let us know what you thought about today’s show, the new show format, and what you think about the show generally on Facebook and Twitter. Just like CAP⋅impact on Facebook or follow @CAPimpactCA on Twitter.

The CAP⋅impact Podcast is made possible by the Capital Center for Law & Policy at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. You can learn more about the Capital Center here, and keep up with the Capital Center on Facebook and Twitter.